Nights to Mornings
by yuroxxie317
Summary: Albus Dumbledore asks his niece for help when he learns from a seer that Voldemort is rising again and that the outcome of the next war isn't one he wants to happen. Retrieving his niece from her own war is the only way he can save countless lives and make a better future for his world. M warning for a reason. OCxdifferent pairings. This starts right before Harry's 3rd year
1. Chapter 1: Family First

Author's note:

I am having some Internet troubles and lots of RL drama. I'm posting from my phone so please forgive my mistakes and slow updates. I'm completely re-writing "Nichole's Adventures in Wonderland" for anyone that was reading it. I've fallen off the face of the earth, I know. I hope to be better now. So I have lots of stories with Nichole in my head, and I'm very sorry that I will be posting them out of order, but the plot bunnies are playing hide and seek lately so I'm posting as I catch them. At this point, Nichole has undergone many physical changes since Wonderlanfailover the years she has changed in my head a lot so that's how I'll write her. This chapter is short since I'm doing this on my phone for the first time. Sorry, hopefully the next one is longer.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Nichole and other characters you don't recognize. The amazing Queen Rowling owns the rest.

Warning: obviously chock-full of mature content. :) I'm not really one for doing anything half way. Violence to start, language, more to come in later chapters for sure. Nichole had lots of trauma as a child and occasionally is put through the same trauma in adulthood, there will be references and I will try not to go into too much detail about her childhood experiences. A lot has happened and I'll try to fill in the blanks. The war I talk about in the first chapter the axed on the newest chapters of Bleach. I'll eventually post a fic about all that went on in the amazing world of Tite Kubo. Enjoy. :)

Chapter One: Family First

Freezing droplets of rain mixed with the tears and blood streaming down the raven-haired beauty's pale face. Heart-shattering pain caused her normally emerald-colored eyes to bleed to a deep chocolate brown. Full lips parted as she screamed in agony, clutching the lifeless body of her husband as she rocked back and forth, praying this whole war was merely another nightmare. Nichole had given her entire being to stop this war, to protect the last of her loved ones, but she was too late once more. Another scream escaped her lips as she realized how much this turned out like her last battle, only then it had been her year old daughter and now it was her husband and their lover. This war had even stolen her seemingly indestructible grandfather from her.

The other warriors standing around her looked on in helpless had become their temporary commander, saving thousands of lives in the process, but never stopped being the caring companion that had helped some of them through their darkest hours. It hurt them deeply to be unable to ease any of her suffering. A loud crack of thunder echoed trough the courtyard, the only other sound apart from the pattering of rain and Nichole's uncontrollable sobbing.

A whisper went through the crowd around her as a foreign man began walking towards her, soldiers stepping aside for him. With a furrowed brow and an ache in his heart, the man knelt down beside the inconsolable beauty. "Nichole. Nichole. Nichole!" The man continue to repeat her name until her blood and tear-stained face turned to him. "I am so sorry for your loss, but you and I both know you can't stay here anymore. Your father has found you here and all you have left are painful memories. This is the worst time to ask it but I also need your help. You are the only one I can trust to do this for me."

Nichole's face twisted in anger as red flashed through her eyes. "You do realize that if you weren't the last of my family, I would kill you here and now for suggesting that," she whispered menacingly. Her usually bell-like voice was hoarse from her screams of despair. He met her fury-filled eyes with his own soft blue ones as he let his sympathy show clear on his face.

The man was dressed in silver robes only a few shades darker than his long silver beard. He laid a wrinkled hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Please. This isn't about me or you, this is about a world of innocent people that will die. I need your help. Please come back with me once more." Normally, Nichole enjoyed hearing her uncle's British accent, today it grated on her decimated nerves.

"You manipulative asshole! Of course you would play on my wanting to help people. You would say or do anything to get your way. My husband just died as well as our lover. I've already lost our daughter, my grandfather, and friends. What more will I lose in your world? Myself? I don't belong in your world, I'm not one of you."

The man shook his head. "You are so much more than any of us could hope to be. You are tougher, faster, more powerful in every way, more responsible and more caring than any other person I have ever met. Please come back," he pleaded.

"I have already helped you! I've given my sacrifices for your world! Why do you come begging for more?" Nichole spat out. Taking a deep steadying breath, her eyes shifted back to their normal emerald color. She knew what she had to do. Her uncle was right in his thinking that she wouldn't let innocent people die because she was in pain and didn't want to help him. Fuck. Her own feelings would be put aside once more. "You win, uncle Albus. I'll go back with you." Nichole turned her head to two men nearby. "Juushiro, Shunsui, I will leave everything to you. Take care of everyone and each other." Her hand shook as she caressed her husband's cold face, still breathtaking even in death. "Good bye, my love." One last tear fell from her eyes as she gently lowered his body to the ground and stood on her unsteady legs. Their lover's body hadn't been recovered, but Nichole felt him die, she knew with great certainty he was gone.

Albus placed a hand on her back to help steady her as she walked beside him through the crowd of her friends and battle-buddies. Raising her hand, she created a portal in the air for them to return to the wizarding world. They were sure to be shocked when whoever was waiting there saw Albus with a bruised and wounded woman whose small amounts of clothing were ripped almost to the point of indecency. Once they walked through that portal, the wizarding world would never be the same. Her existence would change everything, every outcome, every life, and hopefully save more than those that were lost. Nichole sighed as she realized her pattern; her grief and feelings were always pushed aside for her relatives and those she loved. She always seemed to put her family first. Here's to hoping it turns out better than it did last time.


	2. Chapter 2: The Favor

**A/N: So my husband and best friend read over chapter one after I posted it and told me there were things that confused them. I figured there would be since I haven't given any back story. I hate typing it all out on my phone but the plot bunnies are starting to have glowing red eyes so I figure I should give it my best shot. My lack of explanation has probably cost me some readers and I'm sorry for that but I will explain more in this chapter. If I can't get it all in this chapter I will in the next one as well. Some of y'all are probably thinking 'Albus doesn't have a niece' but I'll get around to that too. **

Disclaimer: Hogwarts and the Wizarding World and its inhabitants are all property of the marvelous Queen Rowling. Nichole is mine though. :)

Warning: General M rating. I'm not one for giving different warnings per chapter. By reading any of this, you are okay with reading mature/adult content.

On with the plot bunnies before they chomp on my arm again!

Chapter 2: The Favor

As Nichole and Albus stepped through the portal and into his office, a stern looking woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun looked up and stopped her pacing. Her eyes took in the sight of the raven-haired woman at Dumbledore's side and her frown seemed to deepen even further. "This is who you left for? This is your best hope? She is not at all what I was expecting, " the woman said as she took a seat before the large desk, smoothing her robes out.

From the corner sounded someone clearing their throat. "I have to agree with Minerva. This…woman seems completely battered and broken. Whatever she faced in that other world would pale in comparison to what she must face should she join us." The man that had spoken was pale, dressed in long black robes that matched the oily black hair atop his head. His nose was larger than average and hooked.

"Severus, that is-" but whatever Albus had been about to say was cut off as Nichole, who had stood passively at his side, was suddenly across the room with a large black sword against Severus's neck. She had moved so quickly she seemed to just appear in that far corner. "Nichole, please release him. Your appearance apparently left much to be desired. Forgive me, it's my fault for not warning them as to what you truly are and how you blend into various worlds," her uncle said, his voice sounded tired as he went to the chair behind his desk and slumped into it, a hand over his eyes.

Letting an animalistic growl vibrate in her throat, Nichole backed away from the pale man, the long black sword disappearing as she lowered her arm. Her eyes flashed red for a moment before returning to their normal green. "Whatever it is you think is so frightening, I have spent the last few years in the middle of a war. I watched as they slaughtered my grandfather, my husband, and the man that shared our bed. The war before that I watched a man I trusted slaughter my year old daughter before he kidnapped me and tortured me, then tried to get me to give him an heir. I have faced horrors the likes of which you could never imagine. I am older than all of you combined and have been to Hell, literally, and back. Don't assume you know me and what I'm capable of and the horrors I have lived through," Nichole whispered venomously. Her hoarse voice never rose but got darker and more frightening as she spoke. For the last decade or so she had been in a Japanese heaven of sorts. She was dressed in her version of the guardian uniforms but amongst all the battles had been shredded to the point of almost indecency. Cuts and bruises decorated her body as well as blood splatter from those she had killed. Her eyes were empty now, all anger gone, the last of her energy had been used to threaten the insolent man before her. With a curl of her upper lip, Nichole made her way over to her uncle's desk and sat beside the stern older woman.

Severus remained in the corner, unsure of what to make of the woman that had nearly beheaded him. He hadn't seen her move yet she was suddenly in front of him. She could have killed him and he never would have blinked. "Forgive me. I underestimated you, appearances are deceiving after all," Severus said in that low voice as he bowed his head slightly in her direction.

"Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, this is Nichole Quin-keen-I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to pronounce your last name," Albus apologized as he looked at the woman in question.

"Quintanilla. It's Hispanic pronunciation is 'Keen-tha-nee-ya' but you can pronounce it how it looks or just call me Nichole," she said softly as she laid her head in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees. "Enough foreplay. What's the favor that has pale-face over there saying it is more horrible than I've ever seen?" Nichole snapped impatiently.

Albus looked taken aback by Nichole's shift in mood and her blunt phrasing. He heard Severus snort in amusement and looked over at him with a questioning glance. "Sorry, but her calling me pale is very amusing. Have you looked in a mirror lately, oh mighty warrior?" Severus asked with one of the bitchiest smirks Nichole had ever seen on a man. She had seen maybe two others do it better in the last thousand years.

Nichole rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I was tan. I haven't kept it up since I've been too damned busy fighting a war. I figure improving my fighting skills was better than vanity," she said in an almost-bored tone as she placed her head in her hands again.

"Nichole, I understand how tired you must be," Nichole scoffed but Albus continued, "but this is very important. Over the last two years, there have been some…incidents that point towards the dark wizard we thought defeated rising in power again. Severus turned during the war against the Dark Lord. He is our man inside should this wizard rise again. The wizard's name is Lord Voldemort. He is the most evil creature to walk the earth in some time."

"Most evil? Doubtful. I will believe this Voldy thing is very evil but I have been in Lucifer's presence, I was married to his son, I have sat at his side and been tied to his bed. This dark wizard is nothing in comparison, that I can promise you. Now, what exactly do you want me to do? Am I supposed to seek and destroy? What?" Nichole asked impatiently.

Minerva stood suddenly with wide eyes. "Such disrespect! Albus, why do you put so much faith in this insolent child? She doesn't know how to behave among her elders. This girl seems utterly barbaric. "

Albus sighed. He knew he would have to put an end to this before Nichole destroyed the entire castle with her anger. "Nichole is my niece. She is Arianna's daughter." When Minerva began to open her mouth to ask how it was possible, Albus merely raised his hand and continued talking. "Arianna was raised by Nichole's powers. Nichole required a mother to enter the human realm and raised Arianna as a vampire of sorts. She is in no way the sister I once knew, but Nichole and I do share blood. Nichole is not a normal woman. She has been reborn over the millennia. Don't let appearances fool you, she is older than anyone in existence."

"That's right. Y'all are youngsters compared to me, babes nursing. I shared a bed with a man for the first time over eleven thousand years ago. I was an angel of creation. I was there when the earth was formed. When the humans were finally made, I was given a special task. Lucifer had just rebelled and fallen from grace. He began to create demons, corrupting humans and such. I was asked to create guardians for the humans. They were perfect beings until Lucifer found their weaknesses and corrupted them. From my guardians came vampires and lycanthropes and …wizards. My children were given powers they never should have received. I left Heaven to fix what Lucifer has done. I will never be able to return my guardians to what they once were, but I stay here to execute the merciless and truly evil. That is why I will help you. This Voldemort thing is just one of my children corrupted," Nichole said as she stood and placed her hand on her slender hips.

All three of the Hogwarts professors remained in silence for a moment, taking in what Nichole had just said. Albus knew most of her history, but hadn't realized her corrupted children included the wizarding world. Albus realized he had never answered Nichole's question. "What we need is for you to go with Severus and learn the ways of the Dark Lord's servants, the Death Eaters. And when the time comes that he rises to power again, I would ask you to go into his service at Severus's side," he explained.

Nichole raised an eyebrow at her uncle and thought about what he had told her. "Give me a few days to talk to…Severus so I can figure out what all that entails. For now, is there somewhere I can clean up and get some sleep?"

Albus nodded and stood. "We can talk more about things after you've rested. Severus, would you be so kind to lead Nichole to the rooms I had prepared for her?" Severus nodded and motioned for Nichole to follow him.

Nichole stood and waved farewell to her uncle before following after Severus's swishing long black robes. She walked a few steps behind him and frowned in thought. What exactly was she supposed to achieve that the spy in front of her couldn't? A shudder ran trough her as various unwelcome scenarios played through her mind. Some of these scenarios brought her close to vomiting. As these images played through her mind, she prayed to all deities and entities of power in existence that she was wrong.


	3. Chapter 3: Let The Nightmares Begin

A/N: So lately these darned plot bunnies have made my insomnia much worse. All my writing has been done between midnight and 5 AM for this story. Ugh. The plot bunnies are starting to get glowing red eyes again so I figure that means back to writing. :) The insomnia makes my anxiety worse so every time I try to fall asleep because I finally feel tired enough, plot bunnies attack and I have an anxiety attack. It's after 3 in the morning and I'm extremely conscious, much to my chagrin.

**Disclaimer: I don't own any familiar characters, that is Queen Rowling's territory. I merely like to frolic in her garden. :)**

Warning: General M warning. By continuing to read this, you are okay with reading mature content. I refuse to be held liable for your psyche. There is reference, and some detail, of rape and abuse. Her past is dark, extremely so. I made up Nichole to deal with my own childhood trauma, she is my security blanket, always has been, so I would love it if people wouldn't try to tear her down anymore. I appreciate criticism, but she's mine and not something for flamers to pick apart. You were warned. Onward!

Chapter 3: Let The Nightmares Begin

Severus lead the seemingly half-broken and wounded woman to a new portrait that fit Nichole's personality perfectly. In the background of the painting were a dark and threatening sky and a large skeletal tree. Beneath the tree sat a skeleton with an array of roses around its skull. "The headmaster informed me you have a fondness for riddles. To get into your room any visitors will have to solve a riddle. The portrait will recognize you and will only allow you entrance without an answer. Each person to visit must give an answer, even if in a group," the pale man explained in that rich deep voice. So far it was one of the few endearing qualities Nichole had found in the enigma beside her, but the night was young.

The skeleton in the portrait looked up at them and spoke in a deep rasping voice that sent chills down her spine. "Severus, what will break every time you name it?"

"Silence," came the calm reply a few moments later. Nichole smiled and walked through the opening behind the portrait as it allowed them inside. Severus allowed the raven-haired woman to go before him, his eyes taking over her battered form in a way he hadn't before. When he initially saw her, he was shocked that the headmaster had seen fit to place so much trust and hope in such a small woman. Her body was lean muscle with extremely generous curves in the right places, tattoos decorating her pale skin peeked out from beneath patches of dried or drying blood. Severus smirked softly as he entered the rooms, nearly barreling into Nichole as she stopped and stared at her surroundings. Albus had somehow managed to decorate perfectly to her tastes.

The room was lit softly with dozens and dozens of candles around the room in opaque containers, the bedding and furniture done in deep purples and shades of black. Smiling softly, Nichole walked over to the bed and pulled back the curtains on it, a letter sitting on her pillow. Her smile became a frown as she recognized the Kanji and picked it up. "No fucking way," she muttered in a breathless voice. With shaking hands, Nichole placed the letter on the nightstand to read later when she was alone. "I need to clean up," Nichole informed Severus as she went towards some of the doors on the other side of the room. She tried the first door and found a closet, the contents causing her to gasp and slam the doors shut. All her belongings she had left behind in Japan were now in the castle. Groaning at her uncle's meddling, she opened the door again and retrieved a pair of simple black cotton hipsters and a white tank top. Nichole turned and tried another door, sighing in relief as she found her bathroom.

Shutting the door behind her, she placed her clothes on the counter by the sink and looked at the different toiletries her uncle had provided, all her favorites lined up along the side of the tub and by the sink as well. With a shrug, Nichole turned on the water as hot as she could get it and began pouring in some oils and bubble baths until the smell was relaxing and the water scalding. Stripping the last of her uniform from her body, wincing as it was dried into some of her wounds, she kicked her boots off and slid into the nearly boiling water. The bath was starting to do wonders for her aching muscles, though the oils and bubbles were stinging her wounds she was more relaxed than she had been in years. Her thoughts drifted to the bat-like man outside the bathroom. "Severus?" she called out.

After a moment's pause, she heard an answer. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I'm just…I figured this as good a time as any to talk." Nichole looked around the spacious bathroom and told him he should drag a chair in from the small table she had seen near the fireplace and love seats in the outer rooms.

Severus stood outside the door, unsure how to respond. "I don't think that would be appropriate. I can wait out here until you are done," he replied. As color rose in his cheeks, he told himself that he was merely warming up in the cozy room.

"Don't be such a prude, Severus. I put enough bubbles in that you can't see anything below my shoulders besides my feet. Besides, I want to try and sleep as soon as I get out of my bath. I want to hear from you, what exactly this Dark Lord is like."

Taking a deep breath, Severus acquiesced and opened the door after grabbing a chair as she had instructed. Averting his eyes, the man set the chair by the sink and sat, becoming extremely interested in the tiles below his feet.

Nichole laughed softly, the mild smile never reaching her eyes that looked as empty as she felt. "I can hear your thoughts, you know. You have a million questions about me, my history, my powers. The loudest questions you seem to have are about the war I just finished," Nichole told him casually. Severus was startled out of his inspection of the floor.

"It's very rude to enter people's minds without their permission," Severus replied after a few heartbeats. How had this woman entered his mid when he was the best Occlumens around?

Nichole crossed her ankles on the edge of the tub, her feet dripping water onto the floor as she shrugged. "I'm not a witch in the normal sense of the word. Reading people's thoughts, for me at least, seems to stem from my power as an empath. When I read a person's emotions, which most people project without realizing, the thoughts in their mind that are tied to the strongest emotions seem to flow out and into my head like a whispering of sweet nothing's in my ear." Severus raised an eyebrow at her explanation to which Nichole just shrugged.

For a moment all Severus could do was open and close his mouth repeatedly, as if he were trying to say something but the thought fluttered away on the wings of a butterfly. "You are…I guess that should come in handy if and when the Dark Lord arises again. I'm not sure what to say in this sort of situation," he admitted.

"How about I just tell you what you and Uncle Albus seem to want to know?" Nichole suggested. "My father was…is…an abusive rapist asshole. He's hunted me down for centuries to make me the object of his unwanted affections. It started when I was a child, he would touch me. When I bled for the first time, he upped the abuse to rape. My mother beat me for stealing her husband's attention. She blamed me for the abuse I received at his hands. Because of all this, she placed a curse on me, but that's a story for another time. My paternal grandfather witnessed the aftermath of one of my father's attacks when I was a teenager and tried to help by having me stay with him. My father was having none of it and stole me back. A few decades ago, my grandfather gave me refuge from my father once more and I ended up falling in love. My grandfather was the head captain of protection squads for a certain type of enemy in Japan. I fell in love with two of the other captains and spent years in on and off relationships with both of them. One was the head of a noble family and a fierce fighter. The other was from the poorest and most violent district around and was the best and most frightening warrior and his squad lived to fight and believed dying in battle was the greatest way to go. Eventually we somehow ended up in a three-way relationship. It worked somehow. I married the nobleman since my warrior wasn't the marrying kind anyway and was very supportive and even continued to share our bed. Three of the captains had gone rogue and started a war with us, all the squads of protection. I had become close friends with two of those captains so it hurt quite a bit. Not long after their betrayal, I became pregnant with my husband's child. When she was born, she was our world, even our lover-the frightening fierce barbarian-doted on and adored her. One of the traitors that had been our friend came to take me and killed our daughter before placing a band on my thigh that would control the outlet of my powers. He tortured me and tried to make me give him an heir. Eventually my loves rescued me and we continued our lives, mourned, fought the war, and carried on. This last war was started by an enemy from many years before we thought had been wiped out. Their leader killed my grandfather, my husband, even our lover. My best friend was killed as well. Some of my other friends had just brought my husband's body to me when uncle Albus arrived. They couldn't find our lover's, but I felt his soul escape, felt him leave me alone in this world," Nichole finished in a whisper, tears streaming down her alabaster cheeks as she looked at the bubbles hiding her body.

Severus had listened to Nichole's story enraptured, unable to look away from her face as she relived every painful memory. It was unreal that the last of the memories took place merely hours before. "I'm…sorry for your loss. I know…I know how hard it is to lose someone you care for immensely," he said softly. Nichole's emerald eyes were a deep chocolate brown now and Severus was confused as to the sudden change. "Your eyes…"

Nichole looked up and tilted her head. "They must be brown now. My eye color changes with strong emotions and when certain powers rise to the surface. They are light blue when I'm happy, deep violet when I'm in love, lavender when my curse takes hold, and so on. Don't freak out now, that's actually one of the least strange things about me," Nichole murmured. Rinsing the rest of her body, she stood up suddenly, causing Severus to blush beet red and glue his eyes to the floor once more. When Nichole noticed his bashfulness, she chuckled softly. "That's cute that you're embarrassed, but could you please hand me a towel?" Nodding, he reached back to the towel rack and handed her the towel. As hard as he tried, he couldn't help but look up and watch the droplets of water that raced down her firm skin and along her beautiful curves. "Thanks, darlin'." Grabbing the towel, she wiped her body down and wrapped it around her body snugly. "I'm not used to being around someone uncomfortable with nudity. Before Japan I lived in Texas and let lots of my friends live with me. Most of them were lycanthropes and very few of them were modest. Usually they ran around naked since the animals within thought of it as very normal. I got used to it, I'm not bothered by nudity whatsoever…usually."

Clearing his throat, Severus stood an turned for the door. "I'm returning to my own rooms, we can speak tomorrow at breakfast if you would like. Good night," he muttered as he swept from the room before Nichole could respond. Shrugging, she shimmied into her underwear and pulled the tank top over her head as she dropped her towel. She quickly towel dried her hair before draining the tub and exiting her bathroom. Her stomach grumbled, making her realize she hadn't eaten in days since she had been so preoccupied with the final battle. In her mind she was weighing which she needed more, sleep or food and the large luxurious-looking bed pushed the scales in favor of sleep. Waving her hand, all light vanished and she climbed under the dark coverlet and wrapped her arms around one of the pillows. Sleep took her quickly and she was haunted by memories of being in bed with her two loves, only to watch their bodies begin to blossom with wounds before lying lifeless in their bed. Tears continued to stream down her face though she never woke from her nightmares. This was merely the beginning of her haunted nights that would shred her very being from the inside out.


End file.
